We can't give you the world tonight, but we can give you the moon... sort of.
I don't know about you but I get goose pimples when I watch the footage of Neil Armstrong making his way down the steps of Apollo 11' Eagle landing craft and placing his foot on the moon "One small step for man... one giant leap for mankind". It's said he meant to say "One small step for a man..." but fluffed it. You can kind of forgive his nerves. He must have been as nervous as turkey at Christmas.
Anyway, I digress. They're great pictures. But the picture quality isn't what you'd call great. Well, 30 years on - some new (or should that be 'old') picture has emerged... digitally re-mastered... and it gives a much clearer picture of that historic journey. And the man responsible for getting the best out of the old tape? He's a Londoner.
So - we'll be hearing from him tonight, and we'll also be talking to Duncan Jones. You might know him, or remember him, as Zowie Bowie - son of 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'... aka 'Ziggy Stardust'... aka David Bowie. Anyway, Zowie Bowie... aka Duncan Jones (I hope you're following this) has just made a film about the moon, or rather a man working on it. Did you know that the final instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy is said to have cost around £300 million to make. Well, Dunc's new flick - his first in fact - cost a measly £2 and half million. The trailer looks cracking though.
Something else that looks impressive is a Galapagos Tortoise (not much of a link, I grant you - but time's pushing on). Did you know that if you tickle their legs they go into a trance. And I know that because Liz Wickham told me. And she knows that because the good people at London Zoo told her. Hopefully, Liz will have picked up some more facts and figures from her day out. The pictures promise to be terrific.
Our big story tonight is the worrying march of swine flu. They reckon ("they" being the experts) that within weeks now, 1 in 8 workers will have the virus. London is undeniably the worst affected area in the country - and the borough with more cases than any other is Tower Hamlets. We have to be careful how we put this but one doctor has told us that "people are stretched and feeling the strain". Doctors are already cancelling holidays. They're asking part-time doctors to work full time. They're asking those on study leave to come back to 'the front line'.
Okay - time really is running out now - so you'll have to tune in to the programme for more on the above - and the David and Goliath story of when the removals men came up against the might of the international Olympic movement. Plus we speak to the guys who are making the most of an empty house on one of the most expensive roads in the country... with the owner's blessing.
See you at six,
Ben & Alex
